Clerical and other garments

ABSTRACT

A WASHABLE FRONT-, SIDE- OR BACK-FASTENING GARMENT HAVING A NECKBAND WHICH IS INTENDED, WHEN WORN, TO STAND UP AROUND THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S NECK AND WHICH HAS SPACED ENDS WHICH DEFINE A SPACE BETWEEN THEM. SAID NECKBAND STANDS UP AROUND THE NECK BECAUSE AT LEAST THOSE PARTS OF THE NECKBAND WHICH ARE IN THE VICINITY OF SAID NECKBAND ENDS AND WHICH ARE SEEN WHEN THE WEARER OF THE GARMENT IS LOOKED AT FRONTALLY ARE STIFFENED. SAID PARTS OF THE NECKBAND ARE STIFFENED BY STIFFENERS WHICH ARE REMOVABLE TO TRANSFORM THE ENTIRE NECKBAND INTO A LIMP AND WASHABLE CONDITION. THE GARMENT IN SOME FORMS THEREOF, IS IDEALLY SUITED FOR WEAR BY CLERGY WITH A WHITE CLERICAL COLLAR MOUNTED UPON A STOCK BAND IN THE CONVENTIONAL MANNER, WHEREBY A TONSURE OR MILITARY COLLAR APPEARANCE IS CREATED. THE GARMENT, IN OTHER FORMS THEREOF, IS SUITABLE FOR USE BY THE LAITY AS A CASSOCK, A SHIRT FOR WEAR WITH A JABOT OR CRAVAT AND SO ON, DEPENDING ON THE MATERIAL USED AND THE COLOUR OF THE MATERIAL.

June 22, 1971 J. c. GLEESON 3,585,642

CLERICAL AND OTHER GARMENTS Filed April 21, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 22, 1971 c, GLEE SQN 3,585,642

I CLERICAL AND OTHER GARMENTS Filed April 21, 1969 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,585,642 CLERICAL AND OTHER GARMENTS Joanna Christina Gleeson, 1 Down St. Mews, London W1, England Filed Apr. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 817,731 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 8, 1968, 21,752/68 Int. Cl. A41b 1/14 U.S. Cl. 2-127 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A washable front-, side or back-fastening garment having a neckband which is intended, when worn, to stand up around the wearers neck and which has spaced ends which define a space between them. Said neckband stands up around the neck because at least those parts of the neckband which are in the vicinity of said neckband ends and which are seen when the wearer of the garment is looked at frontally are stiffened. Said parts of the neckband are stiffened by stiffeners which are removable to transform the entire neckband into a limp and washable condition.

The garment in some forms thereof, is ideally suited for wear by clergy with a white clerical collar mounted upon a stock band in the conventional manner, whereby a tonsure or military collar appearance is created. The garment, in other forms thereof, is suitable for use by the laity as a cassock, a shirt for wear with a jabot or cravat and so on, depending on the material used and the colour of the material.

This invention relates to clerical and other garments.

One type of clerical garment to which the invention relates is the cassock worn not only by clergy but also by choristers and members of the laity who assist the clergy of many denominations in the performance of whatever liturgy those clergy normally conduct. Such cassocks have collars which are similar to those of the so-called tonsure or military stocks and which are stiffened in some way, for example, by the incorporation of canvas or other similar collar stiffener, said stiffening means not being such as can be removed for cleaning the cassock. It is, therefore, a disadvantage of such cassocks that they need to be dry-cleaned at relatively great cost when compared with that of washing them by hand or in a domestic washing machine, and this results in the periods of use between the dates on which they are drycleaned becoming too long for hygienic conditions and smart appearance to be maintained.

The other main type (and the most important type as far as this invention is concerned) of clerical garment is that which includes the tonsure or military collar whose general appearance as seen from the front is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. Clergy wishing to wear apparel having said general appearance must wear one of a number of collar constructions all of which are less than entirely satisfactory because of certain problems, difficulties or disadvantages which include the problem of adequately cleaning one or another part of said apparel or the number and bulkiness of the constituent elements of said apparel, and so on. A number of such constructions is exemplified by those which are dis- 3,585,642 Patented June 22,, 1971 ice closed in the US. patent specifications which are discussed below.

In US. patent specification No. 2,934,769, there is disclosed a detachable collar which is adapted in use, to be supported by the neckband of a vest and which has black strips adhesively secured to the outer surface of the outer portion of a conventional folded collar. Said black strips are so placed on said outer surface as firstly to define or leave exposed to view only a narrow white band above the upper edges of the strips along the whole length of said collar except at that zone of the collar which is intended to be located at the centre front of the neck, said strips having ends which are spaced apart at said zone to leave exposed to view the whole height of said outer portion. Alternatively, said outer surface may be painted or inked to obtain the same appearance as is obtained by sticking separate black strips to said outer surface.

With such a detachable collar, cleaning is made diflicult because exceptional care must be used to avoid damaging the applied black strips or painted or inked areas; alternatively, if exceptional care is not taken during cleaning, said black strips (if made of fabric) will tend to become detached from said outer surface and/or marked or stained during the cleaning of the white collar. Further, the paint or ink used instead of said black strips will tend to present a different appearance from that of the vest because the ink or paint will probably have a shiny surface and will not necessarily be of the same shade of black as is the vest.

In US. patent specification No. 3,159,846, there is disclosed a clerical garment (which is stated to be a clerical vest, or a shirt or shirtfront, et cetera) whose neckband is provided with a number of spaced portions of snap fasteners and is relatively stiff and self-sustaining. A collar (either of the type which consists of an unfolded single stiff but flexible strip or of the conventional folded type) is manufactured with holes which, when the collar is correctly placed on said neckband, will be in register with the snap fastener portions on said neckband. [[t is assumed that the female portions of the snap fastener are integral with said neckband, in which case each of two separable military neckband collar portions is provided with male snap fastener portions which are so spaced thereon as to be adapted to be pushed through some of the holes in said collar into the female snap fastener portions integral with said neckband. The said separable collar portions are substantially mirror images of one another, left-hand and right-hand ones being provided each of which is specially shaped to provide a better fit.

Such a construction is expensive to make and, therefore, expensive to the purchasing public. It is also cumbersome and it is irksome to put on.

In US. patent specification No. 3,206,764 there is disclosed a feature (namely, prevention of the collar from sliding revolubly in the neckband of a clerical garment of the military type) with which the present discussion is not concerned but this specification discloses a collar construction which is stated to be particularly adapted for closed-back clerical garments carrying military collars. Th clerical garment may be a vest, rabat, shirtfront et cetera and has a double neckband which (in section) is substantially U-shaped with that limb of the U which is to be the outer limb when the garment is worn larger (taller) than the inner one. The collar is an unfolded single stiff but flexible strip which is placed between the two limbs of the U-shaped neckband.

The neckband is obviously of relatively stilfand selfsustaining construction as before which makes it very difficult to clean properly and, as fastened at the back, is very bulky. This bulkiness is due to the overlapping ends of the white collar (which may be connected to one another by a collar button but which apparently need not be so connected) and the overlapping ends of the neckband which are superimposed upon the overlapping collar ends, the overlapping neckband ends being provided with complementary snap fastener elements. Admittedly, the ends of the inner limb of the U-shaped neckband are relatively widely spaced apart in order to reduce this bulkiness but the bulkiness is still considerable and occurs in register with that part of the backbone which extends through the neck. l

The principal object of the present inventlon is to provide a clerical garment whose neckband can be readily endowed with stiffness for wear and can as readily be converted to a limp and washable condition and a subsidiary object is to provide a garment (for example a shirt) for wear by the laity on all occasions, whether formal or informal.

As employed herein without adjectival qualification, the word garment is intended to include a front-fastening or back-fastening or side-fastening garment.

According, therefore, to a first aspect, the present invention consists in a garment (as herein defined) having a normally limp washable neckband of which two ends are spaced apart from one another at the centre of the front of the garment, said neckband having integral means adapted to accommodate or support at least the ends of at least one neckband-stiffening device which is such as would stifien at least the front portion (which includes said two ends) of said neckband.

In one embodiment which is designed for use with two separate neckband-stiffening devices, each of said devices is such as would stiffen said neckband over, for example, about a quater of the overall length of the neckband, said quarter being measured from the respective one of said two ends of the neckband towards or in the direction of the mid-length point of the neckband. In an alternative embodiment, which is designed for use with a single neckband-stiffening device, said device would stiffen said neckband over substantially the entire overall length of the neckband measured from one of said two neckband ends to the other.

Preferably, said integral means consists of two tubular or sleeve-like portions of said neckband each of which extends from the respective one of said two ends of the neckband towards or in the direction of said mid-length point, each of said sleeve-like portions having an opening giving access thereto which is spaced from the respective one of said two ends of the neckband, each sleeve-like portion being closed at a location which is substantially coincident with the respective one of said neckband ends, said opening of each sleeve-like portion being provided to permit the insertion of the respective one of said two devices into and the concealment thereof within said sleeve-like portion, said concealment being concealment from view at least when so much of said garment is looked at as would be seen if said garment were to be worn.

Alternatively, said integral means consists of two spaced open-ended pocket-like elements of which each one is adapted to accommodate and support one of the opposite ends of one of said two neckband-stiffening devices, each of said two pocket-like elements being located at or in the immediate vicinity of the respective one of said two ends of the neckband.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide wearing apparel for clergy who wish to wear or who are bound by regulations or custom to wear a garment having a tonsure or military collar or appearance, said wearing apparel being such as to be capable of being properly 4 cleaned without specialist services obtainable only at laundries or dry-cleaning establishments.

According, therefore to a second aspect, the present invention consists in a wearing apparel for clergy which includes a front, side, or back-fastening clerical shirt and a stock band; said shirt having a limp washable tunic portion which is adapted to encircle a wearers torso and thus to cover at least the shoulders, back and chest of the wearer and of which the upper end terminates at a neck-encircling part which is centrally located, a limp washable neckband being connected to said neck-encircling part, said neckband being continuous from one end thereof to the other and at least portions of said neckband ends being spaced apart from one another so as to define a free space therebetween, said neckband being provided with means integral with said neckband for the accommodation or support of neckband-stiffening means such as would stiffen at least the front portion (which includes said neckband ends) of said neckband; said stock band being adapted to support a clerical collar and having attached thereto stabilising means which depends therefrom; the arrangement being such as will enable a clergyman to place around his neck a clerical collar supported by said stock band and to don said clerical shirt after having caused said neckband-stiffening means to stiffen at least said front portion of said neckband and to fasten said shirt about his person, whereby said stibilising means will prevent said stock band and said collar from moving relative to the shirt to any substantial degree and said stiffened front portion of said neckband will lie snugly against the outer surface of said collar to create the requisite tonsure or miliary collar.

Preferably, said stock band also incorporates a stiffening means which is readily removable in order thereby to render said stock band limp and washable.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention according to said second aspect, said stabilising means is constituted by a bib, but in an alternative embodiment, said stabilising means is constituted by a piece of material which need not be substantially wider than the distance between the neckband ends when said neckband ends are lying snugly against said outer surface of the collar and which carries a member operable to effect an operative connection of said tunic portion to said piece of material.

The present invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a clerical garment which includes a. tonsure or military collar;

FIG. 2 illustrates the upper end of a garment (in this case a front-fastening and washable cassock) whose neckband is constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates said upper end of the garment of FIG. 2 laid out substantially flat and with a portion of said neckband in an unstitched condition in order to facilitate clear description of one embodiment of the neckband construction;

FIG. 4 illustrates a section through the neckband on the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate successive stages in dressing by a cleric, FIG. 5 showing the cleric wearing in addition to his underclothing vest a stock band which supports a clerical collar of the conventional folded type and from which depends a bib, said bib acting as a stabilising means which prevents the collar rotating about the neck during wear, and FIG. 6 showing the cleric having donned a garment (in this case a front-fastening and washable shirt) whose neckband is constructed in accordance with any suitable embodiment thereof, whereby the requisite tonsure or military collar appearance is created;

FIG. 7 illustrates a first alternative embodiment of neckband construction of a garment which could be for clerics or laity to wear;

FIG. 8 illustrates in two similar views a modification of the garment illustrated in FIG. 6, the left-hand view showing the neckband fastened and the right-hand view showing the neckband unfastened;

FIG. 9 illustrates in perspective and from the front thereof an alternative stabilising means attached to and depending from a stock band which may either be limp and washable in the absence of a removable stiffener or be otherwise constructed;

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 illustrate second, third and fourth alternative embodiments of neckband construction of front-fastening and washable garments for wear by clerics or laity; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate neckband constructions of side-fastening and back-fastening garments, respectively, each being for wear by clerics or laity.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated by way of example the head and shoulders of a member of the laity wearing a cassock and thus correctly dressed to assist a clergyman conducting a religious service. The body of the cassock is made to be washable and also has a neckband 11 which is normally limp and washable and which is of a construction which will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3, there is illustrated the inside of the cassock 10 which is front fastening and is provided with a plurality of buttons 12 and complementary button holes 13, the neckband being substantially tubular or sleeve-like throughout its length. Said cassock consists of a tunic or body portion 14 (FIG. 4) to the circular edge of which there is attached the neckband 11 which is constituted by strips 15, 16 of the same material of which the body 14 is made (said body usually consisting of a torso-encircling portion and a skirt portion, and possibly also two sleeves) and a strip 17 of an interlining material. The inturned edges of said strips 15, 16, 17 and the circular edge of said tunic or body portion 14 are sewn to one another in order to attach said neckband to the tunic or body portion, thereby completing the cassock, the strip forming the outer surface of said neckband.w It will be seen that the strip 16 terminates in inturned edges denoted by reference numerals 18 whereas the strips 15, 17 are of substantially equal lengths greater than that of the strip 16 and the end parts thereof are folded back on themselves about a fold line 19 and sewn down so as to close the ends of the tubular neckband and to present inturned edges of which only one is denoted in FIG. 3 by the reference numeral 20. There are thus formed two openings on the inside of the neckband in the vicinities of the respective neckband ends, each opening being defined by the edges 18 and 20 and each providing access to the interior of or cavity within said neckband. Two neckband-stiffening devices 21, 22 are adapted for easy insertion into said interior or cavity through said openings, the leading end of each device being firstly pushed thereinto towards the line A which denotes the position of the mid-length point of the neckband, said length be ing measured from one closed end of said neckband to the other, until the trailing end thereof is clear of the edge 20 of the opening, whereupon the device is pushed in the opposite direction (namely, away from said line A) in order to cause that end of the device which was the trailing end thereof to occupy the small pocket constituted by the folded-back end parts of the strips 15, 17.

The width dimension of the devices 21, 22 is substantially equal to that of the interior of or cavity within the tubular neckband with the result that the front portion (which includes the neckband ends) of the cassock neckband stands up smartly and remains at all times snugly against the collar of the shirt or against whatever other garment is being worn by the wearer when he put on the cassock.

It will be appreciated that, as an alternative to the two separate devices 21, 22 and the two requisite openings illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 and described above, a single neckband-stiffening device could be employed whose overall length would be substantially equal to that of the neck- Cir hand. With such a device, it would be necessary or at least economical to provide a single opening on the inside of said neckband, preferably at or in the region of the line A, the ends of the device being pushed through Zaid opening into the respective parts of the tubular neckand.

It is preferred to provide curved devices, the curvature thereof conforming generally to that of a neck. However, although two solid strips of a plastics material or of, say, aluminum have been indicated as constituting said devices 21, 22 in FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that any arrangement will be satisfactory which will have the desired neckband-stiffening effect, which effect includes not only maintenance of said front portion of the neckband free from wrinkles or puckers transversely of the neckband but also the conversion of at least said front portion of said neckband from its natural limp condition to a firm upstanding condition which, together with the cutting of the constituent parts of said neckband, ensures that said stiffened neckband lies snugly against the shirt collar.

It will be noticed that the uppermost ends of the overlapping front edges of the cassock are provided with male snap fastener elements 23 and complementary female snap fastener elements 24, respectively. These ensure that the cassock edges will not gape and contribute to the neat appearance of the cassock at this vital region.

Referring now FIG. 5, there is illirstrated a clergyman who has put on over his underclothing vest one part of his wearing apparel, namely, a stock band which cannot be seen since it is supporting a clerical collar 30 the ends of which fasten at the back of his neck, said stock band having attached thereto a depending bib 31 which is made of the same material as that from which the remainder of said wearing apparel is made (for example, a black or grey cloth) unless the clergyman is of an ecclesiastical rank which is desirably indicated at throat level in which case said bib will be made of material of the appropriate colour (for example bishops violet or violet carmine, or the purple of the cardinalate, and so on). FIG. 6 illustrates the same clergyman having donned the other part of the wearing apparel, namely, a shirt 32 which is frontfastening and which completes the desired tonsure or military collar appearance.

Referring to FIG. 7, the shirt 32 has a neckband 33 of which the constituent elements are a strip 34 and a strip 35 of the same material as the remainder of the shirt and between said two strips 34, 35 a strip of interlining 36, the strip 34 as illustrated forming the outer surface of the neckband and the strip 35 forming, therefore, the inner surface of the neckband which will come into contact with the clerical collar 30. The said strips 34, 35, 36 may all be of substantially the same dimensions in length and width but it would be better to make the strip 36 longer than the other two strips so that end portions of said strips 36 could be folded back to provide two chaferesistant surfaces for a reason which will hereinafter become apparent. Said three strips are so sewn to one another and to the remainder of the shirt as to be closed along the entire edge 37 and closed at the ends 38, 39, the lower (as seen in FIG. 7) inturned edges of the three strips 34, 35 and 36 being sewn to said remainder of the shirt over the two zones B and C thereby forming tubular pockets but the lower inturned edges of only the strips 35, 36 being sewn to the remainder of the shirt over the zone D. In zone D, therefore, the lower edge of the strip 34 is not attached to the remainder of the shirt but may be lifted to insert either two separate neckband-stiffening devices into said tubular pockets or the two ends of a single neckband-stiffening device into said pockets. It is desirable for the inner surfaces of said tubular pockets to be lined with an interlining material because of the unavoidable chafing to which said pockets will be subjected whenever the neckband-stiffening device or devices is or are put back after washing, or at least that the portions of said pockets which are in the neigh- 7 bourhood of the ends 38, 39 of the neckband be so lined since the respective ends of the device or devices will almost certainly be pushed hard against said ends 38, 39 every time it is or they are replaced thereby accelerating the rate of destructive wear in those regions.

It would also be possible to fasten the lower edge of the strip 34 to the remainder of the shirt at or in the vicinity of the mid-length point of the neckband which is denoted by the line B, with the object of ensuring that the strip 34 does not develop a tendency to gape at that region as a result of the repeated folding back of said strip 34 during insertion of said device or devices.

It has been stated above that the ends of the collar 30 are fastened to one another at the back of the neck. This is usually done by a back stud which could be employed to anchor said collar ends to the neckband, a stud hole being provided for that purpose on the inside of the neckband, namely, in the strip 35 or in the strips 35, 36. Such anchoring should not normally be necessary but, if effected, would positively prevent both the back of the collar from riding up the neck and any tendency of the collar 30 to rotate about the neck.

Male snap fastener elements 40 and complementary female snap fastener elements 41 are provided at the uppermost ends of the overlapping shirt edges in order'to present a neat appearance without said uppermost ends gaping. However, in an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 8, complementary snap fastener elements are attached to respective extensions of the neckband (or to respective appropriately formed extensions of those edges of the front-fastening shirt which are intended, during wear, to overlap), said extensions occupying a part of the neckband width W and thus effectively reducing the dimensions of the space between the neckband ends 50, 51 and the amount of collar which is to be seen in said space at throat level as is required by some religious orders. With the construction of FIG. 8, it is not essential to employ removable stiffeners and it would be sufficient to employ a neckband made in the manner of a Trubenised collar or in any similar manner.

I have found that if one increases the size of the bib illustrated in FIG. 5, it is possible to achieve absolute stability of the collar 30 supported by the stock band when the whole apparel is being worn. Thus, if one were to make the bib of such a size as to provide, in effect, a small cape which covers a part of the chest, a part of each shoulder and a part of the back just above each shoulder blade, such bib will be held quite positively by the shirt as a result of the friction between the contacting shirt and bib surfaces. With such a bib, which acts as a stabilising means constraining the collar 30 to remain quite still during wear, it is not necessary to provide any anchoring means such as a button and buttonhole or complementary snap fastener elements or the like.

However, I have also found that one can reduce the size of the bib to such an etxent that the stabilising means can hardly be called a bib. Thus, in FIG. 9, there is illustrated a stabilising means 60 attached to and depending from a stock band 61 and carrying a button 62 intended to engage a buttonhole formed in the shirt with which it is to be worn, said buttonhole being illustrated as having been provided in the shirt of FIG. 3, namely, buttonhole 63. If said buttonhole 63 is formed in that shirt edge which carries the buttons 12, the button 62 engaging said hole 63 will be concealed by the other shirt edge which is intended to overlap said button-carrying edge.

Referring now briefly to FIGS. 10 to 12, it will be appreciated that means necessary for the support and retention of the neckband-stiffening device or devices can be widely varied. Thus, FIG. 10 illustrates pairs of oppositely directed pockets 100 of which the ends 101 are open to provide access thereto, FIG. 11 illustrates a pair of pockets 11 of which the sides 111 are open to provide access thereto and FIG. 12 illustrates a pair of pockets 120 of which the ends 121 are open to provide access thereto.

band but said pockets should each be provided with an interlining material in order to Withstand the Wear caused by chafing. It will be obvious that the formation of pockets to accommodate the neckband-stiffening devices for the shirt could be identical with that illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 for the cassock.

The construction of FIG. 7 could be varied by providing access to the opposed pockets from the inside of the shirt instead of from the outside thereof.

The stock band could be stiffened in a manner similar to that adopted for stiffening the shirt neckband; preferably, opposed pockets would be provided at the front of the stock band, access to said pockets being indicated by the reference numerals 200, 201 in FIG. 9, the opposite ends of a stiffener (not illustrated) being pushed into and along said pockets until they come up against the ends 202, 203 of said pockets, said stiffener being of an overall length and substantially equal to that of the stock band 61 between the ends 202, 203 thereof and being of a width substantially equal at any point thereon to that of the corresponding point of said stock band 61.

It would, of course, be possible to stiffen a normally limp washable neckband of a clerical garment, the ends of said neckband being spaced apart from one another at the center of the front of the garment, by making fixed male fastener elements (at least one male fastener element being so fixed to said neckband at or in the vicinity of each one of said neckband ends as to be inwardly directed) or equivalent elemens serve as said integral means adapted to support a neckband-stiffening device. Said inwardly directed male fastener elements would be intended for engagement with holes formed in, say, the clerical collar 30 (FIG. 5) and in the supporting stock band which is invisible in that figure. Wth such a construction (and there would preferably be two spaced male fastener elements fixed to said neckband at or in the vicinity of each end, one element being fixed at the end and the other element spaced about two inches away along the neckband from said one element), the collar 30 and the stock band would constitute the neckband-stiffening device and the male fastener elements would support the collar 30 and the stock band.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 13 and 14, there are illustrated therein side-fastening and back-fastening embodiments of neckband construction, respectively, each neckband being on a garment which may be primarily intended for wear either by clerics or by the laity. In FIG. 13, the side-fastening garment 250 fastens at the right shoulder by virtue of the neckband 251 being interrupted at a location remote from the neckband ends 252. Said neckband 251 at said location is therefore provided with portions 253, 254 which are intended to overlap in use and of which the portion 253 is provided with, say, male snapfastener elements 255 and of which the portion 254 is provided with complementary female snap-fastener elements 256. Said portions 253, 254 which are intended to overlap in use are attached to edges of portions 257, 258, respectively, which are likewise intended to overlap in use. It will be noted that, purely by way of example, that part of the neckband 251 which has been folded down flat to reveal the neckband construction has been shown as having the same form of tubular construction as that of the neckband of the cassock of FIG. 3. In FIG. 14, the backfastening garment 275 fastens at the back of the neck by virtue of the neckband 276 being interrupted at a location remote from the neckband ends 277. Said neckband 276 at said location is therefore provided with portions 278, 279 Which are intended to overlap in use and of which the portion 278 is provided with, say, a male snap-fastener element 280 and of which the portion 279 is provided with a complementary female snapfastener element (not visible in FIG. 14). Said portions 278, 279 of the neckband 276 are attached to edges of the tunic portion of the garment and said tunic portion is provided with portions which are intended to overlap in use in the manner illustrated, said portions of the tunic portion having edges 281, 282 which (when the garment is being worn) extend vertically downwards from the neckband 276 substantially in register with the vertebrae over a distance of, say, six inches.

As will be appreciated, the fronts of the garments illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 are clear in the sense of being devoid of buttons or even of a fly-front fastening in which the buttons are hidden from view, and such a garment can, therefore, be made to present a very smart uninterrupted front.

Some of the advantages of the wearing apparel for clergy described above are as follows:

(1) There is little bulkiness at the back of the neck because, with the sole exception of the garment illustrated in FIG. 14, there is only the bulk of the conjoined ends of the clerical collar and the superimposed neckband. Even with the garment of FIG. 14, however, there need be relatively little extra bulk particularly if two separate neckband-stiffening devices are used.

(2) The bib of the bib stock can be such (see FIG. 9) that its width X is little greater than the spacing between the closed neckband ends and can still provide the necessary body-covering portion which can also act as the means for indicating ecclesiastical rank. It should be borne in mind that the space between the closed neckband ends can be as much as 3 /2 inches which is the spacing required for the Archbishop of Canterbury, England.

(3) Substantially the entire wearing apparel can be converted to a limp washable state and can thereafter be easily converted back again to the stiffened state required for use, the stock band needing merely to be stiffened without necessarily being entirely free from wrinkles or pickers since it is always hidden but the neckband needing to be stiffened so as to be free from such wrinkles or puckers since it is always hidden but the neckband needing against the outer surface of the clerical collar.

(4) There is no longer the necessity to wear a shirt of which at least the front chest portion must be covered up by the bib of a bib stock, a waistcoat to cover any part of the shirt not covered by the bib and finally a jacket in order to be correctly and formally dressed in an aesthetically and sartorially pleasing manner. Nor is it necessary in order to be thus dressed, to wear a shirt and a vest stock (which covers the whole of the front of the shirt and which is provided with an assembly of adjustable armhole straps and a back-encircling strap in order to hold it in place) and finally a jacket. All these garments make the wearer very hot in warm weather or in countries with hot climates. With the wearing apparel described with reference to the accompanying drawings, a clergyman could leave off his jacket since the material used in making the shirt is of the correct colour (black, grey, white and so on) for his calling or religious denomination, whereas with the former mode of dress he could not leave off his jacket, firstly, because he often Wore a white or a striped collarless shirt under a black jacket with the result that the white sleeves and back of the shirt would have looked incongruous and, secondly, because he probably wore the vest stock with its unsightly assemblage of straps. If he attempted to conceal such unsightliness with a pullover (sleeveless or otherwise), he made a retrograde step because removal of his jacket could hardly achieve the required degree of cooling which he wanted.

(5) Existing bib stocks of the type illustrated in FIG. 5 are not made obsolete and, therefore, a clergyman can bring himself up to date and provide far more comfort- 10 able conditions for himself simply by replacing his old collarless shirts by smart shirts which will enable him to appear correctly dressed in a tonsure or military collar.

(6) Ease of dressing is considerable compared with the time-consuming and irksome sequence of operations necessary hitherto.

Referring to the .garment for wear by the laity on all occasions, whether formal or informal, such a garment could take the form of a shirt which could be, in common with the clerical shirts, front-fastening, side-fastening or back-fastening and which could be so designed, shaped or styled as to be adapted for wear with a jabot (which, according to Websters New International Dictionary, was originally the name given to a kind of ruffie worn by men on the bosom of the shirt) or with a cravat (which, according to the same dictionary, is a neckcloth or a piece of silk, fine muslin et cetera worn about the neck). If the person depicted in FIG. 5 were in fact to be wearing a jabot consisting essentially of a neck-encircling band from the centre of which there depends a rufile or fall of lace or golfered linen or the like and if that person were then to don for example a shirt having a neckband whose ends were spaced by the same amount as or perhaps slightly more than the various neckband ends illustrated in the various FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 8, to permit said rufile or fall to be accommodated between said ends, the result would be extremely smart because the stiffened ends of said neckband would lie close to the band of the jabot at the front of the neck and there could he, say, three quarters of an inch of said jabot band to be seen above said neckband. Sartorially, the result would be likely nowadays to appeal to wearers of very different social backgrounds since a male person from the social stratum in which wealth is commonplace could wear such apparel as a part of evening dress whereas male teenagers from widley differing social strata readily accept fashion extremes.

Any part of the neckband of the various neckband constructions disclsode herein may be tubular throughout its length or over only a part of its length. Consequently, in the construction of FIG. 13, one neckband-stiffening device could be short and the other could be long, each device extending from the respective neckband end 252 to the vicinity of the respective elements 255, 256.

What I claim as my invention and desire to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A garment including a limp washable tunic portion which is intended to encircle a wearers torso in order to cover at least the shoulders, back and chest of the wearer and of which the upper end terminates at a neckencircling part which is centrally located, a normally limp washable neckband which has two edges of which one is connected to a major proportion of said neck-encircling part and which is intended to extend around the major proportion of the wearers neck, said neckband having an inside surface and an outside surface and two ends spaced apart from one another at the centre of the front of the garment, fastening means on said garment, said fastening means being operable by the wearer of the garment to secure at least said neckband around his neck, neckband-stiffening means, and said neckband including accommodation means for receiving said neckband-stiffening means, said neckband-stiffening means being removably inserted into said accommodation means to stiffen at least the front portion of said neckband, said front portion including said two ends, said neckband-stiffening means leaving free the space between said two ends for the display therein of other wearing apparel worn beneath said garment by the wearer of the garment when said neckband is secured.

2. A garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is a single neckband-stiffening means and accommodation means therefor, said stiffening means and receiving means extending substantially from one of said two ends to the other of said two ends to stiffen substantially the entire overall length of the neckband.

3. A garment as in claim 1 wherein, said fastening means is on said neckband and is disposed relative to said garment so as to be positioned adjacent one shoulder of a wearer of said garment.

4. A garment as in claim 1 wherein, said fastening means is on said neckband and is disposed relative to said garment so as to be positioned adjacent the vertebrae of a wearer of said garment.

5. A garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are two separate neckband-stiffening means and separate accommodation means for each of said two stiffening means, each of said stiffening means extending substantially from the respective one of said ends to a zone which is located in approximate alignment with the portion of said tunic intended to cover the shoulders of the wearer of said garment.

6. A garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein said accommodation means consists of two sleeve-like portions of said neckband each of which extends from the respective one of said two ends of the neckband at least as far as said zone, an opening for each sleeve-like portion, said opening being spaced from the respective one of said two ends and giving access to the interior of said sleevelike portion to permit the insertion thereinto and the removal therefrom of the respective one of said two separate neckband-stiffening means, each sleeve-like portion being closed at least at a location which is substantially coincident with the respective one of said ends, and said opening of each sleeve-like portion being provided in the inside surface of the neckband which will lie against said other wearing apparel when the garment is worn, whereby said two separate neckband-stiffening means are completely concealed from view when said garment is worn.

7. A garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein said accommodation means comprises two pairs of spaced pockets in said neckband, an access opening for each pocket and the openings for the pockets of each pair being positioned with respect to each other so that the pocket openings of each pair face one another, one pocket of each pair being located in said neckband so that the end thereof which is opposite the access opening thereof is substantially coincident with the respective one of the spaced ends of the neckband, said access openings per mitting the insertion into the respective pairs of spaced pockets of the ends of the respective neckband-stiffening means and the exposed portions of said means lying against said other wearing apparel when the garment is worn.

8. A garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein said accommodation means comprises two spaced pockets each of which has two ends and two elongate edges, an access opening for each pocket, said access opening being provided at one elongate edge of the respective pocket, said pockets being so located that one of the ends of each pocket is substantially coincident with the respective one of the spaced ends of the neckband, said access openings permitting the insertion into said pockets of the neckband-stiffening means, and said pockets and the neckbandstiifening means therein being disposed on the inside surface of said neckband so as to be invisible when the garment is worn.

9. A garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein said accommodation means comprises two spaced pockets each of which has two ends and two elongate edges, an access opening for each pocket, said access opening being provided at one end of each of said pockets and the other ends of said pockets being substantially coincident with respective spaced ends of the neckband, said access openings permitting the insertion into said pockets of the neckband-stiffening means, and the pockets and the neckbandstiffening means being disposed on the inside surface of said neckband as to be invisible when the garment is Worn.

10. A garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein said neckband comprises inner and outer bands each of which has two ends and two elongate edges, the corresponding ends of said bands being connected to one another and one elongate edge of the inner band being connected to the corresponding elongate edge of the outer band, the other elongate edge of one of said inner and outer bands being connected to a major proportion of said neck-encircling part, and spaced parts of the other elongate edge of the other of said inner and outer bands being connected to spaced portions of said neck-encircling part so as to leave a part of said other elongate edge of said other of said inner and outer bands unconnected to said neck-encircling part; said interconnected ends, one elongate edge, spaced parts of the other elongate edge and neck-encircling part forming a tunnel-like space, an access opening for said space, said opening being defined by said spaced parts of the other elongate edge which are connected to the spaced portions of said neck-encircling part and by said part of the other elongate edge which is unconnected to said neck-encircling part, the two separate neckband-stiffening means being received within spaced portions of said tunnel-like space and extending from the respective connected ends of the inner and outer bands to said zone.

11. A garment as claimed in claim 2, wherein said neckband comprises inner and outer bands each of which has two ends and two elongate edges, the corresponding ends of said bands being connected to one another and one elongate edge of the inner band being connected to the corresponding elongate edge of the outer band, the other elongate edge of one of said inner and outer bands being connected to a major proportion of said neckencircling part, and spaced parts of the other elongate edge of the other of said inner and outer bands being connected to spaced portions of said neck-encircling part so as to leave a part of said other elongate edge of said other of said inner and outer bands unconnected to said neck-encircling part; said interconnected ends, one elongate edge, spaced parts of the other elongate edge and neck-encircling part forming a tunnel-like space, an access opening for said space, said opening being defined by said spaced parts of the other elongate edge which are connected to the spaced portions of said neck-encircling part and by said part of the other elongate edge which is unconnected to said neck-encircling part, the single neckband-stiffening means being received within said tunnel-like space and extending therein continuously from two of the corresponding connected ends of the inner and outer bands to the other two corresponding connected ends thereof.

12. A wearing apparel for clergy which includes a clerical shirt and a stock band, said shirt having a limp washable tunic portion which is adapted to encircle a Wearers torso and thus to cover at least the shoulders, back and chest of the wearer and of which the upper end terminates at a neck-encircling part which is centrally located, a limp washable neckband being connected to said neck-encircling part; said neckband being continuous from one end thereof to the other end and at least portions of said neckband ends being spaced apart from one another so as to define a free space therebetween; neckband-stiffening means; said neckband being provided with receiving means removably receiving said neckbandstiffening means, at least one opening giving access to said receiving means for the insertion thereinto of said neckband-stiffening means for the purpose of stiffening at least a front portion of said neckband, said front portion including said neckband ends; said stock band adapted to support a clerical collar and having attached thereto stabilising means depending therefrom; the clerical shirt overlying said stock band, said stabilising means and said clerical collar with the neckband of the clerical shirt lying against the clerical collar, said stabilising means and said shirt having cooperable detachable securing means releasably securing each to the other whereby said stabilising means prevents said stock band and said collar from moving relative to the shirt to any substantial degree and said neckband lies snuggly against the outer surface of said clerical collar to create the requisite tonsure or military collar with the neckband-stiffening means being hidden from view.

13. A wearing apparel as claimed in claim 12, including a receiving means or pocket in said stock band and a stiffening means which is removably inserted in said pocket in said stock band in order thereby to selectively stiffen said stock band and render said stock band limp and washable.

14 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,758,766 5/1930 Stapes 2127 2,485,828 10/1949 Hauer 2l27X 3,068,486 l2/1962 Gleeson 2-129 3,393,405 7/1968 Hollinger et al. 2129 FOREIGN PATENTS 465,382 4/1914 France 2137 1,511,321 12/1967 France 2129 888,876 2/1962 Great Britain 2127 RICHARD J. SCANLAN, 111., Primary Examiner 

